The departure of Doc River only adds to further speculation that the Boston Celtics are slowly dismantling their current roster, but now rumors suggest that the franchise is looking to either trade small forward Paul Pierce or decide to buy him out.
According to SportingNews.com, the Celtics have until June 30 to inform Pierce of such a move. If the Celtics are able to move Pierce to another team with enough cap space to absorb his salary, they will receive a trade exception worth his salary, or $15.3 million.
If that happens the Celtics the already have a sign-and-trade offer ready for Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith making him their top priority in free agency, according to a source.
Smith has long been a part of Celtic trade rumors, including one that would have sent Pierce to Atlanta in February. His current connection to the Celtics dates back to his high school days, where he played alongside current Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo at Oak Hill.
However, in order for the Celtics to land their guy in Smith they'll first need to pull of the deal for Pierce. This is a result of being over the salary cap, meaning they can't take on salary without sending back matching salaries.
With their options being limited, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks have been the only two teams connected to pulling a Pierce deal off.
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